Priorities clear, and freedom doesn't get a guernsey

The debate on Australia's future and whether the US or China will be pre-eminent is correctly resolved by your front page (Herald, October 24) - a picture of US President George Bush centred among our leading politicians; a headline announcing a $30 billion export bonanza involving trade with China. No one could have put it more succinctly.

Don Sutherland, North Sydney, October 24.

"I love free speech" - the Presidential proclamation to the Australian Parliament - is not an attribute to which the Chinese leader can boast. Let us not forget Tiananmen Square only a few years ago when young and intelligent people were systematically slaughtered for laying claim to such a privilege. A bill was sent to the families for the cost of the bullets used.

As Mr Bush put it, are we not a better society because the Saddam regime has been toppled? What about China, and where do our priorities lie?

Gary Kennedy, Tamarama, October 24.

If Bob Brown's protest against George Bush in Parliament was a stunt, as Mr Howard claims everyone knows, surely the most cunning stunt of all was to bring Mr Bush here.

John Buchanan, Macquarie Park, October 24.

The hypocrisy, the hypocrisy. George Bush, for effect, mentioned the rape rooms of Saddam. He might like to take some time one day to look to the history of his own forces in war time - women, across all sides, have always been booty. Neither he, nor John Howard, seemed to have mentioned their concern for the women of Iraq or Afghanistan until after September 11.

The word "freedom" was mentioned 16 times by George Bush. But justice didn't get a guernsey. I'm sure many Tibetans today will be thinking exactly the same thing.

We cannot have our freedom, to be secure, to be wealthy, at the expense of the freedom of others. We cannot have freedom without justice. We will not have security without a semblance of equality.

Look to Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka for just two case studies of the root causes of terrorism and the potential solution.

Melissa Butcher, North Randwick, October 24.

In response to the interjections of Senators Nettle and Brown during President Bush's parliamentary address, George W. made the tongue-in-cheek comment "I love free speech".

What a pity, then, that there was certainly none of that allowed during his recent visit. Public barriers distanced further from Parliament House, loudhailers confiscated, outdoor plants strategically positioned in order to screen the arriving President from protesters as well as Parliament's public gallery being made "un-public" for the day, to mention just a few embarrassing actions.

Maybe Chinese President Hu Jintao, on his Australian visit, was able to get a few hot tips from John Howard on the suppression of democracy?

Justin Williams, Jamberoo, October 24.

A quick browse of the US media, including ABC, CBS and CNN, reveals that the Bush visit to Australia is being reported in terms of "jeering" and "heckling" of the President. John Howard, you have failed to deliver for our great and powerful friend.

Luke Taper, Georgetown, October 24.

It could have been a trick of the light but I'm sure I saw John's tail wagging.

Les Hoad, Armidale, October 23.

As one who has twice protested on the roof of Parliament House I can understand the concerns of Senator Lightfoot. It is still possible to secrete a large package into the House undetected by security.

I wrote to Senator Amanda Vanstone about this but her reply did not indicate much interest. Senator Lightfoot has certainly shown that he takes security seriously, but now he needs to alert the authorities about the loopholes of which he is aware. Having more clout than a lowly protester like myself should enable him to get his message taken seriously and acted upon.

Gareth Smith, Byron Bay, October 24.

Sadly, man of steel is apt, but fair dinkum is not

Dear Mr Bush, I hope you enjoyed your visit to
Australia. It was amusing to hear you use that great Aussie term "fair dinkum",
a term that has fallen out of common use lately, for reasons that I am sure you
will understand. I fear you may have been somewhat misled as to its meaning,
because you equated it with the Texan term, "man of steel".

This is a description that we in Australia understand very well, and it does suit Mr Howard. He is rigid and uncompromising, cold and hard, highly polished but still dull somehow. "Fair dinkum" means something very different. It means true and honest, trustworthy and sincere. I hope you can see your mistake.

Jo-Anne Lentern, Clareville, October 24.

No doubt John Howard considers that being identified as "a man of steel" will serve to enhance his reputation. It's a view that was shared by another "great" leader, Josef Vissarionovich Djugashvili, who liked the connotations of the phrase so much that he adop-ted the Russian version as his surname, Stalin.

Robyn Prygoda, Nowra, October 24.

Mr Bush called Mr Howard a "man of steel" - and he meant this as a compliment. Bush's robot?

Johanna Blows, Kenthurst, October 24.

One thing I've learnt about Dubya's visit to Parliament House: he'll never make a poet if he uses metaphors like "man of steel" to describe someone alloyed to the White House.

Henk Verhoeven, Beacon Hill, October 24.

Will John Howard now have the nickname of Stainless?

Anthony Healy, Willoughby, October 24.

Steel might be strong, but it is also cold, hard and rigid.

Kay Kan, Cheltenham, October 24.

"That's Texan for fair dinkum", which is Australian for patronising.

Sophie J. Kunze, Penrith, October 23.

A disgraceful sentence for Folbigg

It's an absolute disgrace that Justice Graham Barr
sentenced Kathleen Folbigg to 40 years' imprisonment. He should have been more
concerned about what went wrong with a social system that let this poor women go
on for so long without help.

Douglas Cliff, North Narrabeen, October 24.

Shared parenting

Claire Hogan (Letters, October 24) must be glad to
hear of the thousands of men and women campaigning for shared parenting after
divorce. Equal time as the starting point, not just one weekend a fortnight.

The vehement opposition of groups such as Elspeth McInnes's National Council of Single Mothers and their Children just demonstrates the gatekeeper mentality of many mothers. Are they masochists or perhaps they just want to punish their ex?

Brian Taylor, Brentwood (WA), October 23.

Indecent of Latham

It appears that Mark Latham thinks that he can buy votes by giving tax relief to workers earning $80,000 a year ("ALP tax cut targets city high earners", Herald October
18-19).

This complete about-face to traditional Labor policy has left me intrigued and somewhat disappointed. Mr Latham stated that he would like to reward workers earning $60,000, $70,000 and $80,000 because they studied hard, got through university and got into "decent jobs". Please, Mr Latham, what is a decent job? Do the bulk of Australians have indecent jobs?

I have had an array of jobs in my 54 years, including slaughtering at an abattoir, stacking bricks, picking potatoes and selling all things. I decided not to go to university. All the best in the next election, Mr Latham. I hope all university-educated people with "decent jobs" vote for you. They are a minority.

Jock Gollan, Farley, October 24.

Misled on Freemasonry

You reported (Herald,
October 21) that the Sydney Anglican Synod is again on the warpath against
Freemasonry, despite that leading Anglicans are Freemasons and find their
religion and Freemasonry compatible.

Freemasonry is not a religion and has no hostile feelings toward religion. A Freemason must profess a belief in a supreme being, but the movement has no theological tenets or denominational rituals.

Freemasonry is an attitude of ethical and social responsibility motivated by the belief in God, in whichever way one understands or celebrates Him. Freemasonry is religious; it is not a religion.

If the sin of Freemasonry in Anglican eyes is that it takes God, the Bible, spirituality and ethics out of church, synagogue and mosque and brings them into the highways and byways of daily life, then maybe it's a sin to be proud of.

Rabbi Raymond Apple, Sydney, October 23.

Other relief for arthritis

There has been a lot of discussion in the media of late (including in today's Herald) concerning the
high cost and risks of medicines for the relief of arthritis pain. As an
arthritis sufferer who has beaten the disease without drugs, I am surprised that
nothing is being done to promote alternative treatments. Previous letters to the
editor on this topic have been ignored. Information is now readily available on
the internet. Why the wall of silence?

Robert Gotts, Winmalee, October 24.

Ban canteen nuts, too

While I applaud the State Government's decision to
restrict unhealthy foods in school canteens, I am alarmed at its inclusion of
nuts as a healthy, everyday food. With an estimated one in 50 Australian
school-age children having an allergy to nuts (many life-threatening) the
Government must rethink the nuts.

In light of the NSW Teachers Federation refusal to administer life-saving medication in the form of an EpiPen to children suffering possibly fatal allergic reactions to foods at school, I would have thought the banning of nuts from all canteens would be imperative.

Rebecca Williams, Eastwood, October 24.

Widen the AIDS campaign

The latest HIV infection rate figures to come from
the Cairns HIV conference points to unprotected anal sex as a key culprit.
Australia's 8.4 per cent infection increase from 759 new cases in 2001 to 823 in
2002 is indefensible. The upsurge has been constant for three years.

A new national agency is needed to replace burgeoning bureaucracies failing in their awareness strategies, despite being given millions of dollars year after year. The HIV awareness messages need to be in the mainstream media, not in the darkened gay sex sites when desire has left safety behind.

Atkins diet worked

As someone who has repeatedly tried and failed to
shed 15-18 kg for the past 13 years, my purchase of the Atkins book and
implementation of his diet for the past 10 weeks has brought about the desired
result - 11 kg gone.

Our family (including a sceptical medical practitioner) is now committed to Atkins, feeling better and with no, in my case, increase in cholesterol, tested thrice since I began the program.

Like the flat-earth proponents who assailed Galileo, the nutritionists who have pilloried Atkins will be forced to eat their words, if not their carbs.

Brian King, Baulkham Hills, October 23.

Silence on this outrage

With the announcement that Israel is to illegally
build 300 new homes on Palestinian territory on the West Bank, in contravention
of the so-called road map, I take it Lucy Turnbull will state her opinion on the
matter and boycott all future events involving Jewish organisations.

A. O'Connell, Allambie, October 24.

Ridiculous to wait so long to turn the clock

Every civilised country in the world (and Tasmania)
that advances the clock in summer does so at, or near, the vernal equinox. At
this season there is the greatest change in the ratio of daylight to night
hours. With this most rapid change the alteration to summer time is least
noticeable.

Why, oh why, is it that in this area, we have to wait till only four weeks from the summer solstice before we advance the clocks? This is especially incongruous when we wait till the autumnal equinox before we put the clocks back to standard time.

James F. Lowe, Heatherbrae, October 24.

So that I can avoid having to tear my hair out each October and March, can everyone please be told that it is daylight saving (singular), not savings (plural)?

John Little, Cronulla, October 24.

Continent goes missing

G. Healey (Letters, October 24) got it almost right.
Yes, we are Australians - that is unquestionable, as is the statement there are
six continents. However, the writer named them incorrectly and left one out. The
six are: Australia, North America, South America, Africa, Antarctica, Eurasia
(correctly called Asia). There is no such continent as Europe, it being the
western end of Asia delineated by an imaginary line to separate the elitist and
racist occupants from those nasty lower races to the east.

Richard Lynch, Waterloo, October 24.

How about naked?

I read Diane Lawrence's comments ("Heckler", October
24) with much interest. I, too, have been subjected to the new party game of
"progressive strip" at Sydney Airport. As layer after layer came off, I asked
the security guard whether I shouldn't just take it all off and see if my body
had a natural magnetic field. (They have no sense of humour those security
guards.)

I look forward to the day when my 87-year-old father next flies. I wonder what security would do with his two stainless-steel knees and the piece of shrapnel lodged in his chest since World War II.

I might add that I flew back from Melbourne a couple of days later and passed through after only getting rid of change, keys and watch.

Dennis White, Cromer, October 24.

Do the maths, chaps

Cricket in October, low spectator interest, multiple
player injuries. Is there no one in Cricket Australia who can join the dots?

Hadyn Strang, Deakin (ACT), October 23.

Check this first

Has any research been done into whether putting
"AAAAAAAAAA" in front of your business name actually works?

Tom Andrews, Frenchs Forest, October 24.

Dubya-free, thankfully

We are lucky Dubya decided against going to the rugby
union. All those with tickets would have been forced to watch the game in pubs
two kilometres from the ground.

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